


Legend Has It

by Simon_Northcote



Category: Original Work
Genre: Constellations, Divination, Fire Magic, Gen, Original Astrological System, Original World, The Sea of Fire, Witches, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:40:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21685423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simon_Northcote/pseuds/Simon_Northcote
Summary: In the Austral Confederation of the Sea of Fire, ten years before the events that happened at the End of the World, two friends visited a witch asking for an astral reading. They wanted to know what the stars said about their futures, but they're unable to see just how true the messages are. Perhaps in time, they can look back and realize that they'd been warned about it long ago, but until then, the fight continues, and so does the fire.
Kudos: 2





	Legend Has It

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I've been working on an original thing for these last months. Call it a book if you want. It's something I'm really excited about and I wanted to write some things down to get a better picture in my head, and when I finished with this, I thought, why not post it?  
> The story takes place in a setting inspired in Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur, Argentina. In case you're curious, it translates to "Land of Fire, Antarctica and Islands of the South Atlantic". This is truly a beautiful place and I love filling this world with its magic. Sabri and Cynthia are just two of the protagonist, but they both play a key role in the story. This is simply a snippet of their childhood as best friends. I wanted to flash out certain aspects of the magic system and the worldbuilding and putting them into text helps a lot.  
> I really don't know if anyone will even read this, but I'd love it if you did and if you left a comment! This is something I'm super excited about and one of the reasons why I'm not writing How They Hold You Like a Gun when I probably should lol. This way I know if people are interested it this and if I should keep posting the stuff I write about it.
> 
> Also I've been listening to the How To Train Your Dragon OST on repeat this last month and I absolutely loved it. It's the only thing I listened to while writing this and it really turns it a whole new experience, in case you like listening to music while reading. My favorite ones are "Once There Were Dragons" and "Flying With Mother" btw!

During the long years of Sabri and Cynthia’s friendship, back when they were kids and their greatest fear was getting caught stealing alfajores and chipás[1] from the bakery, they often visited witches, fortune tellers and fire breathers wanting to hear about the legendary feats that they saw in their future. This particular time, they strolled down the streets of Bahía Cormorán[2], stepping on brown wet snow with a splash and occasionally glancing at the port several hundred meters away. The tall and stiff masts of the frigates pointed at the lilac sky like a dozen toothpicks on a piece of cheese, or like swords stabbed into the earth. Seagulls sang their songs as they flew back to their nests for the night, and a lonely lamplighter held up a long stick with a fire at the end to light the lanterns hanging above the cobblestones street. It was only four and a half in the afternoon, but the sun was already setting and the sky was turning purple. If one held a compass in his hand, he would see the sun was not setting on the west, like it did in more northern latitudes, but on the northwest. Some may stretch it and even claim it was setting in the north, while rising from the south. It was winter, after all, and the archipelagos of the Sea of Fire had not received its name because of its warm weather and gentle winters.

And so Sabri and Cynthia, being twelve and fifteen years old respectively, made their way towards an _Almacén de Brujas_ , the Witch House. It was a big building with three floors, just across the port. The walls were old wood and the roofs were diagonal of plaques of sheet iron. It wasn’t pretty, but warm light came out of the windows and a heavy lantern hung from a nail next to the door, with a condor carved in wood standing on top of it, and this made the girls feel welcome. Sabri smiled thinking about how beautiful it must be to live in such a place, a Witch House right in front of the port, where you could see the ships every day and easily sneak inside one of them in the moment you got bored of the Archipelago. All you had to do was to look out your window to see the ocean.

Above the door, there was a wooden hand-carved sign that read: _‘Because from fire we come, fire we are’._

Cynthia knocked on the door and moment later a woman came out to receive them.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” She asked with a smile.

Cynthia’s fingers wrapped around Sabri’s forearm.

“My friend and I wanted to get an astral reading”

The woman’s smile faltered.

“An astral reading? Are you sure?” She asked. “Just the two of you alone?”

Sabri and Cynthia nodded. Having their parents there would be awkward. She would much rather hear about their constellations with Cynthia than with mom and dad.

“We have money!” Sabri intervened. “Please don’t kick us out. We can pay you!”

The woman chuckled.

“Okay, okay!” She said, stepping aside and holding the door open for the girls. “If you’re sure you want a reading, I’m no one to deny you”

Sabri and Cynthia walked in. The house looked smaller from the inside, although it was probably because of how busy it was. Full of tables, closets and shelves, and several other witches were working, walking across the room or reading books in the couches and tables. There was a young man sitting on the last steps of the stairs, carving a piece of bone with a knife. An old lady stood next to him and read a book out loud. There was a burning wood stove near the opposite wall, surrounded by a circle of couches, and several floating candles lighted the room. There were tables with piles of books and woodcarving tools. Someone had left an unfinished wooden puma the size of a thumb on top of a tin box. A big burly man was working on a delicate clay sculpture while humming a song. One of the candles was floating in Sabri’s direction, and when she pushed it away, she realized the candle itself wasn’t hovering, but it was sealed to a small flying clay plate with the design of tiny flying seagulls encircling the edges.

“We heard there was a witch living here who knew how to do astral readings” Cynthia explained to the woman. “Is it true?”

The woman chuckled. She was looking for something in one of the bookshelves, pulling one of the candles closer to see better.

“It is indeed true!” She smiled. “Because that would be me”

The big burly man gave a raspy laugh that sounded like a barking dog.

“An astral reading?” He asked, looking at the girls over his shoulder. “Where are your parents?”

“We’re doing it without them” Sabri said.

The man stared at them for a moment. Then he shrugged and returned to his work.

“Alright, everyone” The woman said. “You know the drill. I need some space”

“Now?” The old lady by the stairs protested.

“Yes, now, Mom” The witch said. “Too many different energies only makes it harder”

Her mother and the two men seemed a bit annoyed, but still walked up the stars and left them alone.

“Are they all witches?” Cynthia asked.

“They are!” The witch smiled. “My mother, my husband and my son”

“I wish my mom was a witch” Sabri lamented.

She picked something from on top of the books, and Sabri abandoned her examination of the floating clay plate to see what it was. At first glance, it looked like it was a very big scroll, but as she walked closer, she realized it was a rolled up woolen carpet.

“It’s not really everyone’s cup of tea. Could you pass me the incense, dear?” She asked Cynthia, pointing at one of the tables. The girl rushed to find what she had asked for. Meanwhile, the witch unrolled the carpet and laid it on the wooden floor in front of the wood stove. It was brown, white and dark grey, with a circular design. The darkest colors were near the center. Sabri stretched out a hand and touched it without asking first. “It’s guanaco wool[3]” the witch explained. “Ten times softer than lamb”

“I like lamb” Sabri said, not thinking.

“I like lamb too” The witch agreed. “But, you know, I like it inside my stomach[4], not in my clothes. It gets itchy”

Cynthia returned with a paper bag filled with incense branches. Short, thick brown sticks of a rough texture and a pleasant smell of smoke. The witch thanked her and indicated them to sit down on the carpet. The two girls obeyed, taking place next to each other while the witch sat in front of them, on the edges of the brown circle.

“Now” She said. “What do you know about _your_ stars?”

Sabri and Cynthia exchanged a guilty look.

“Nothing?” The witch guessed. She gently took hold of one of the candles floating towards her. “Not even in what constellations they are?”

“They probably are in a big one” Sabri said proudly, holding her chin up. “Like the Imperial Orca or the Sea Serpent”

The witch frowned.

“Did you ever get a reading before?”

“We don’t need a reading to know that” Cynthia said. “I think it’s obvious”

The witch blinked. She then gave them a plastic smile.

“Well, it’s better not to make assumptions about this” She said. “My son really thought his star would be in the Phoenix, but in the end, in was the tip of the Rainbow Hummingbird’s tail. He was very disappointed”

“We’re not hummingbirds” Cynthia snarled, as if she’d been insulted.

The witch placed the plate in the center of the black circle. She held her plastic smile.

“Right” She said. “You two don’t seem like hummingbirds” She gestured at the candle. It was old and small, and the fire was nearly dying. “ _’Because from fire we come, fire we are’_ ” She said. Both girls had heard that sentence a million times before. It had never really sounded _special_ before. It was written on the hulls of ships, in the coats of arms of the five provinces in the Austral Confederation, on the walls of schools and in most Witch Houses. “This is an ancient ritual, practiced in every culture ever since humans became humans. Please remember that only you can find your star, and that I am only a humble guide in your lifelong journey”

She picked two incense branches that smelled like pine and held them to the fire so that they would catch light. Once they did, the witch handed each of them to Sabri and Cynthia, who were careful to keep their fingers away from the fire.

“On the count of three” She said. “I’m going to ask you to blow on the fire. Unless you’re fire breathers, this is the only way”

The girls exchanged a look. Sabri’s heart was beating quickly inside her chest, like an excited rabbit. She was finally going to know what her star was! She was certain it must be in the same constellation as Cynthia’s.

The witch counted to three, and both Sabri and Cynthia blew on the incense, extinguishing not only their fire, but also snuffing out the candle.

The fire of the salamandra suddenly died, along with all the candles in the room and for a moment, they were swallowed by darkness. Sabri could only see the burning stub of the incense branch, bright red, but it was quickly receding as well as the incense turned into smoke. Her heart gave a painful leap when the branch disappeared and she found herself holding the air.

The witch inhaled. And then, she breathed out.

She blew fire into the air with her mouth, and Sabri could see the smoke from the incense hanging above them. Tiny bright sparks floated around and gathered in groups, forming patterns and recognizable shapes. Her mouth went dry when she realized they were constellations.

The little candle caught fire and the witch closed her mouth. Sabri looked at her.

“You’re a fire breather!” She exclaimed.

“Of course I am” The witch smiled. “Only fire breathers can do astral readings. It’s very advanced magic”

Sabri snapped her mouth shut. She was a fire breather! She had just seen _fire breathing_ , right in front of her face! Everyone was always talking about fire breathing but now she just _saw_ it! She looked at Cynthia and found her friend looking at her as well, with the same spark of excitement in her green eyes. She’d made the right choice coming with her.

She glanced at the smoke and the sparks once more. They were moving, slowly rotating but never breaking the constellations. The dim light made Cynthia look like a ghost, with her paler-than-snow skin.

“Who wants to start?” The witch asked.

“Sabri should start” Cynthia said, looking at her friend. “I know you really want to do this”

Sabri glanced at the witch, at the sparks and at Cynthia.

“You can go first” she said. “It doesn’t bother me”

“Are you sure?”

Sabri nodded.

“If you’re sure” Cynthia shrugged, suddenly looking shy. She faced the witch. “What do I do?”

“You have to blow on the smoke” The witch explained. “You may not be able to breathe fire for now, but your normal breathe will do”

Cynthia frowned.

“For now?” She asked. “I mean, I could become a fire breather if I wanted?”

“Of course!” The witch exclaimed. “Obviously, it takes years of study in the arts of magic, but physically, as long as you have a soul, you could learn how to do it”

Cynthia nodded, with a new determination in the way she clenched her jaw that Sabri recognized well. She would become a fire breather too, some day. It sounded incredible.

“Close your eyes” The witch explained. “And look inside yourself. Try to remember the strongest emotion you’ve ever felt”

“But I don’t remember the strongest emotion I’ve ever felt!”

“Then think about what you love the most. What makes your heard pick up like nothing else does? What does your inner fire burn for?”

The fire of the candle flickered, and Sabri could swear the eyes of the woman were bright gold instead of dark brown. It was probably just the fire. Above them, the constellations of the southern sky danced as if they were alive. Fires that were burning millions of kilometers away in the sky, and yet the soul, the fire of every human in earth came from them.

Her heart picked up. The soul of every human on earth. Everyone had a piece of star inside of them, no matter how rich or poor, smart or dumb, young or old, man or woman, southern or northern, witch or not. The fire of the candle was warm, soft and beautiful, flickering like the twinkle of a star older than history itself. And there was one like that inside of everyone.

When Cynthia was ready, she tilted her head up and blew. The smoke curled and waved with her breath, and the sparks were blown away like snow, dissipating into the air. Sabri blinked in awe as she watched the stars disappear, leaving only eight of them forming one single constellation. She smiled widely when she recognized it.

“The Imperial Orca!” Cynthia exclaimed. She looked at Sabri excitedly. Sabri opened her mouth to say something, but the witch interrupted.

“It’s a very powerful constellation” She nodded. “The Imperial Orca is the ruler of the Ocean, and has been ever since the Sea Serpents left this world to create the Southern Lights.” Cynthia observed her constellation wide eyed, with a proud, tiny smile on her face. “She is a strong spirit, and she can devour everything on her way. Not even the whales or the leopard seals present an obstacle for her. She’s an unstoppable force of nature, with the power to change the world”

“She sounds like me” Cynthia mumbled.

The witch gave her a nervous smile.

“Would you like to know what your star is?” She asked.

Cynthia nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes! Let’s do it!”

“Close your eyes and…” The witch hesitated. “There’s a fire inside of you. It is as ancient as history, and it’s been alive since the first light gave birth to the universe. Try to reach it”

Cynthia nodded, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

“Look past yourself, into the meaning of your soul. If you can reach it, you can find where it comes from and what role your star plays in the sky map of history”

Cynthia sighed.

“I think I feel it” She said.

“That quickly?” The witch asked. “I’m impressed. Now, once you find it, don’t let it go. Cling to it. It is your soul” She looked up at the Imperial Orca. Sabri hadn’t realized until then that it was moving, swimming in the smoke. “Now, blow”

Cynthia blew, and the stars fluttered, but they weren’t blown away like before. Instead, they nearly vanished, their glow now dim and weak. All except for one. The one at the tip of the Imperial Orca’s snout was still shining brightly. It felt like the only source of light in the room.

“Orcinus Dente Alpha” The witch said. “The Orca’s Tooth”

“What does it mean?” Cynthia asked.

The witch swallowed nervously. She glance at the constellation, and then back at Cynthia.

“The Orca is an apex predator” She explained. “Do you know what that means?”

“It means it’s at the top of the food chain” Cynthia explained.

The witch nodded.

“The Orca has no natural predators. She’s unstoppable. She can devour anything that stands in her way and no one can defeat her” She said. “Except for one thing”

Cynthia blinked.

“That’s not true” She stated.

“I’m afraid it is” Cynthia said. “And it may be what you least expect. Orcas are at the top of the food chain, but in the end, they’re killed by tooth cavities”

“No” Cynthia shook her head.

“The bacteria and food debris creates holes in the tooth and when they get infected, the orca gets sick and dies. Her hunt for power ends up becoming her downfall”

Cynthia stood up suddenly in a way that startled Sabri.

“That’s not possible” She protested. “You’re making it up because you don’t like me”

“I’m only telling you what the stars say” the witch explained, looking perplexed. “Listen, this isn’t a death sentence. The stars don’t say that everything you do in life will backfire. It’s just a simple warning. They’re asking you to pay attention to…”

“I don’t want to hear about this” Cynthia cut her off. She looked for something in her pocket and threw it at the witch. Five silvers. “Have your money. I didn’t want this reading anyways”

She turned around, and before she could storm off, Sabri grabbed her arm.

“Wait! I still want my reading” She said. “Could you stay with me?”

Cynthia gave her a look Sabri knew too well. She sometimes thought she was the only one Cynthia ever looked at like that. Like she was trying her hardest to do… something. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“Fine” Cynthia scoffed. “But I’m doing this for you”

She took her seat next to Sabri, but didn’t look at the witch again.

The witch scoffed and waited until Sabri’s eyes were on her again.

“Are you ready?” She asked.

Sabri nodded.

“I was born ready”

The witch smiled. She tilted her chin up and once again, breathed fire into the smoke. The flame was red and deep, coming from the deepest parts of her soul. Sabri couldn’t help but blink at the brightness. When she opened her eyes again, the sparks were back, circling around the smoke and forming moving constellations. The King Deer was trotting and the Compass’s needle spun uncontrollably, looking for north. The Sphinx tilted her head and the Tree of Wind stretched its branches into the sky. Sabri looked at them with wide eyes, realizing then that the stars, much like the fire inside a human being, were alive.

“Look inside yourself” The witch said. She didn’t need to repeat herself. Sabri had heard her already.

She closed her eyes and tried to think about her strongest memory, but she couldn’t put her finger in anything particularly special. Perhaps the moment she met Cynthia, but at the time it hadn’t been a special moment. Their friendship had been built over the years. It wasn’t that. A decade later, she would think it was ironic that the memory that shaped her adult life the most revolved around Cynthia, but there was still a long time until that happened.

So she thought about what she wanted the most. It was obvious, of course. She wanted to travel, and see the world, and then come back with legends of her adventures fighting pirates and slaying sea serpents. She would take people with her so that everyone could experience that, and she would become a hero renewed for generations in the Austral Confederation. She would bring gold and diamonds to the provinces and they would write songs about her and how she turned the dull, cold, boring Austral Confederation into a bright and vibrant paradise.

That was it. She wanted to become a legend.

But then she went deeper. Like climbing down a ladder at night.

As ancient as history. What does your fire burn for?

Time was spread thin, like stretching a knot into a tight string. Seeing the past was no different than seeing the future. She caught glimpses of light behind her eyelids. A lantern. Ripples in the water. A waving green flag… no, the Celestial Sea Serpents. The Southern Lights. Green and purple and a glint of red. They casted light over the ice she was standing on.

The saw Cynthia ahead. She looked older. She also saw a young boy who looked a lot like her friend, but he was standing behind Sabri as if he was scared. The green light reflected on Cynthia’s glasses, and for only a moment, she saw her death glare pierce her through the glass.

As soon as the image came, it dissipated, and before it was completely gone, Sabri desperately clung to it and blew into the smoke.

She didn’t open her eyes to see the sparks disappear. She only did it when she heard Cynthia gasp next to her. She mistook it for a gasp of awe and she smiled. Her constellation must be the Celestial Sea Serpent or the Phoenix, or maybe even the Imperial Orca like Cynthia.

But when she did look up to the stars, she felt a pang of disappointment.

It was small. Really small. Almost as small as the Whaletail constellation. It made no sense. She was going to become a hero. How could her constellation be so _small_?

She squinted, trying to identify it. It must be a mistake. There was no way she was…

“The Baby Penguin” The witch said. “It’s a beautiful constellation, if I may say so”

“But it’s so small!” Sabri protested. “That can’t be me”

The Baby Penguin stomped uselessly around the smoke, with its dumb little legs and its fat fluffy body. She couldn’t even have the Mother Penguin, the graceful seafarer of the polar seas. It was just the stupid Baby Penguin!

“No ritual is foolproof” The witch explained. “Of course, I can’t tell you what your stars are exactly. This is more of a suggestion, an approximation. Finding your star is a lifelong process” She looked up at the constellation. “But I wouldn’t be disappointed to have the Baby Penguin. It’s a great constellation”

“It’s not great! It’s small! When you told me to look inside myself, I wanted to become a hero”

“There’s no hero too small” The witch said. “The Baby Penguin plays a big part in the legends. Before the Sea Serpents left these seas, the Baby Penguin was the only one to stand up against the Ice Giants that lived in the glaciers while everyone else ran away. His small but fluffy body allowed him to go unnoticed and survive in the Glacier Cathedrals and to travel in ships made of icebergs while…”

“But he didn’t do anything” Sabri interrupted. “His Mother was the one who brought the Orca and the Phoenix to fight the Ice Giants when she noticed he was gone. He’s not a hero! And that’s the only legend in which he even appears!”

The witch shrugged.

“Perhaps” She said. “Do you want to know your star?”

Sabri swallowed.

“I think we’re done here” She said, standing up and handing the woman eight silvers. It was quite some money and she was already regretting wasting it on a witch who tried to convince her she was a stupid penguin.

The witch cheerfully bid them goodbye, but Sabri and Cynthia didn’t return the enthusiasm. They walked out into the street and didn’t look back. The sun had already set and the sky was pitch black, covered in a blanket of clouds. Two horses pulled a cart down the street and a bunch of drunken sailors were singing a song by the port. The two friends rushed around a corner and down the sidewalk without a clear destination. Probably Cynthia’s house.

“I can’t believe she dared to imply you were a _penguin_!” She barked. “How could she say that?”

“I don’t know!” Sabri replied.

“We paid her money for this!?” She scoffed. “Unbelievable”

They walked past an artisan fair in the park, where younger witches sold their amulets, foods and services. Cynthia had always been interested in fairs, but this time she walked right past without even glancing at it.

“You’re not a worthless penguin” She said, stopping and turning to look at Sabri. “She was wrong. You must be in the Imperial Orca with me. I bet you’re her eye”

“You think?” Sabri asked. The image of the Southern Lights and an older Cynthia flashed through her mind. It made her uneasy, so she pushed it away. It must have been the incense smoke. “I don’t know. Maybe she was right”

Cynthia smirked.

“I know you better than she does” She said. “And I know you’re not a Baby Penguin. You’re so much more than that” She took her hand and started running. “Come on! Let’s go to my house”

**Author's Note:**

> [1] Alfajores and chipás are two traditional recipes from Argentina. Despite them being from the north, I’ve decided to include them as part of the culinary culture of the world.  
> [2] “Bahía Cormorán” translates as “Cormorant Bay”.  
> [3] Guanacos are animals similar to llamas that are found in all of Patagonia, including Tierra del Fuego. Their wool can be used just like sheep wool. I’ve never touched it, but I’ve heard it’s really, really soft.  
> [4] Cordero a la Cruz (lamb) is a traditional meal from Patagonia, including Tierra del Fuego, even though the province is more characterized by seafood.
> 
> Well, this was something. Definitely the most spiritual thing I've writen so far. I had a lot of fun making this and it definitely helped me get in touch with my own story.  
> What do you guys thing? Is it good? Should I post more about this? You're more than welcome to leave comments and validation!  
> See you next time I update one of my stories!


End file.
